Self-publishing ebooks
These days it’s very easy, and affordable, to self-publish in an ebook format and distribute your ebook through retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. There are these parts to the process:
Marketing a self-published ebook
Right now, EBW does not have in-house marketing expertise, so we can’t promise the guidance you’ll need if you’re about to market a book for the first time. That said, here are some things we do know or can recommend. … Read more
Ebook distribution for self-publishers
You want to make it very easy for people to find and buy your ebook. The more distributors you use, the more places your ebook will be, and the easier it will be for them to find it. Here are some examples of distribution platforms you can use. … Read more
DRM and self-publishing
Digital rights management (DRM) is any technological method intended to prevent people from sharing content illegally. There are three main DRM systems for ebooks: Adobe DRM, Amazon Kindle DRM, and Apple FairPlay DRM. Ebooks in any one of those DRM systems are incompatible with the others. Read our summary on DRM, and our article on Adobe DRM for more detail. … Read more
Creating ebooks for self-publishing
When you create an ebook for sale, you need to make three separate things: A cover, also called a marketing image The ebook file A metadata documentCover imageThe cover is simple enough. You’re looking to create a striking image that would in print have been the front cover of a book. Since ebook covers spend most of their visible lives as thumbnails, some publishers try to make the text big and clear, but that’s up to you. Far more important is that it’s beautifully designed. If you can afford it, get a professional book cover designer to create this image. In South Africa, you’ll usually pay between R3000 (about $450) and R6000 (about $800) for this. … Read more
If the quality of your book is as good as most, marketing savvy and effort is what determines financial success. The rest is easy.